“We do need the foreign workers here,” Hutchison said, stressing the importance of immigrants to the U.S. economy.

As for worries that the immigrants may not be able to return to the U.S. after going back to their own countries to receive permission to work abroad legally, Hutchison said: “We can have the two-year period in which to do it, and there can be a safe harbor for the two years so that you don’t disrupt the economy.”